Unwilling From Earth

by Andrew Maclure

  “Good, I’m glad it’s feeling better. I knew you’d bear it stoically.”

  “Just retract your claws next time.”

  “Talking of next time, are you leaving now?”

  “Yes, I want to get back to Earth and sort some stuff out. And I want to try out my new starship.” He grinned. “When will you be able to join us?”

  Sally dipped her head down, face towards the floor and scrubbed at her hair with the fingers of both hands. She looked up. “I’m not sure. I want to brief all the new or newly promoted officers, but there are just too many of them. The Tolen want a meeting too. I’m a bit concerned about that. I don’t know anything about them, I don’t want them trying to make a takeover bid for the army - or to displace them. I’m really not going to be good company for a while so it’s probably better that you’re not around. I’ll contact you when I’m ready.”

  Mark stood behind her and massaged her shoulders. He was a bit surprised at how hard the muscles of her upper back were. After a few minutes his thumbs started to ache, so he stopped and crouched beside her. He put his arm around her shoulder and leant over to kiss her forehead.

  Sally turned to him and said “Don’t start getting sloppy. Go on, time for you to leave. I’ve got another fun meeting to go to.” They both stood up. Sally grabbed the sides of his head with her hands and tugged his face down to hers. She kissed him roughly and clumsily on the lips and then stood back. “I’ve got to go now. See you later.” She blinked out.

  “Yeah, see you later.” Mark said out loud to the empty room. He blinked to the docking bay, got into his shuttle and left for his own ship.

  Boarding The Ship

  As soon as the shuttle reached his ship he blinked to the Command Centre.It was still just a large empty room with an oval table that had a wood effect top.

  “Kate, this room needs a bit more in it. Can you arrange for four screens on the wall, showing the view outside from the front, rear and either side of the ship. I want eight chairs suitable for humans and Mike around the oval conference table. I also want a coffee table, about two metres long and a metre wide that it's made of wood with a three seater settee either side of it. Make them of leather, oatmeal coloured. That will do for a start. Can you do all that?” Mark said to his AI.

  “Of course Mark. It will take a little while for them to be extruded.”

  “Do I have any quarters set up yet?”

  “Yes, I arranged for them to be the same as you had on Mother, before you handed them over to Mike.”

  Mark blinked to his new quarters and looked around. “Right Kate, I want a separate bedroom with a double bed and tables either side. I want the bedding to be blue instead of grey and can you make the floor throughout my quarters, except the bathroom, look like carpet. For the time being, with a flecked oatmeal colour.”

  “You like oatmeal coloured furnishings?” His AI asked.

  “Not particularly, but it’s better than grey.”

  “What colour blue did you want for the bedding?”

  “Just blue, How many blues are there?” Mark asked.

  “I can offer you an almost infinite range of shades of blue, but to make it simpler, choose from these.”

  A four by five colour chart appeared in Mark's vision with various shades of blue, each one with a shade name.

  “Er, I think I’ll have Azure. No, wait, I’ll have the Admiral blue.”

  “Very well Mark. Do you want to set a colour preference for your clothes?”

  “Good idea Kate. I’ll stick with a black jumpsuit and white underwear. Can you arrange for a new set of clothes to be in the synthesiser every morning when I wake up? And a mug of tea. Hold on, probably not a good idea for them to both be there at the same time, er, what should I have first?”

  “Why not have two synthesisers in your bedroom? You can have tea in one and clothes in the other.”

  “Good idea. Would you make the doors of all the synthesisers and cupboards white. And the internal doors. And the bathroom fittings.”

  “Certainly Mark. Anything else?”

  “Yes. Can you make the bathroom mirror make my reflection better looking?”

  ”No, but I can put a landscape picture there instead. What would you prefer, a sea view or mountains? Or

  a picture of someone else?”

  “Mark laughed. I didn’t know you had a sense of humour Kate. Can you locate Mike and take me to her please?”

  Mark found himself in a corridor with Mike. “Where are we?” He asked her.

  “And you’re the captain?” She replied. “Actually, I don’t know. I’ve just been wandering aimlessly. Everywhere looks pretty much the same. The corridors are all the same and every room I’ve looked into has been empty. I’m bored with this. Where shall we go?”

  “The Command Centre.” They both blinked out.

  “Oh, you’ve made some changes!” Mike said, looking round.

  “Well, it’s a start. Shall we eat?”

  “Why don’t we try the ship out first. Let’s go to Earth and we can eat in orbit, if you’re sure you know what you are doing.”

  “Of course I’m sure what I’m doing! We’re on a brand new People’s starship, full of new, up to date AI’s and equipment and my AI is going to negotiate with the ship’s AI’s to get us there. What could possibly go wrong?”

  “Yeah, OK. That’s what you said just before we went off to visit Tk'ng Dach Rrn’s and you came out looking like you lost an argument with a meat grinder. Off you go then.” She said, dismissively.

  “Right.” Mark said out loud.

  To his AI, he said “Take us to Earth please Kate.”

  “Are we there yet?” Mike asked. “Only I thought we might see Earth or something on those screens on the wall.”

  “Kate, screens on please.” Mark told his AI.

  The screens lit up and the one at the front of the command centre filled with the blue marble of Earth with swirling white clouds over it.

  “What a beautiful sight, isn’t it?.” Mark said, with a smile on his lips.

  “You’ve seen one blue planet, you’ve seen them all. Let’s eat. I’ve set up a dining area.” Mike said. She blinked out, followed by Mark.

  The dining area was a large room with the walls covered in hangings of various shades of green ranging from a bright lime through to an olive that was so dark it was almost black. There was a refectory style table that appeared to made of shiny black stone which could have comfortably seated twenty, but had just two chairs, positioned opposite each other about one-third of the way along. The floor shifted under Mark's feet as though it was sand and the air was hot and dry.

  “Don’t tell me, it reminds you of your childhood, when you were happy.” Mark said.

  “Not really. It’s modelled after the dining areas used when we had guests at my family home. Except for the height of the table and the chairs of course. Don’t you like it?”

  “It’s fine. Just not quite what I was expecting. Shall we order?”

  “I’ve already ordered for us. We’re having the same as we are eating together, that thing you call teppanyaki. You seemed to like that. The synthesiser is over here.” Mike said, walking towards a particularly vivid green wall hanging. She pushed it aside to reveal a synthesiser door which she opened. Having taken the plates with their meals and the cutlery that came with them, they returned to the table to eat.

  “So when are you planning to go down to Earth?” Mike enquired.

  “As soon as we’ve eaten. Will you be OK here by yourself? I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”

  “These last few days have been the first time I’ve had any privacy for years, so don’t rush back. I can enjoy the silence and may catch up with some old friends. It would be good to meet them again.”

  “Meet them? Here?” Mark's asked, surprised.

  “Yes. Virtual reality meetings of course. I can do that now I have access to your subspace communications.”

  “You do?”
Mark said, more than a bit surprised.

  “Er, yes. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you.” Mike answered.

  Mark just shook his head and sighed. Perhaps he should come up with some ship’s rules.

  “Maybe we can go to meet them in the flesh at some time?” Mike suggested.

  “Of course,“ Mark answered. ”I said before, yes to old friends, no to old enemies.”

  Mike smiled. “Yeah. OK. So where to next?”

  “That’s something you can think about while I’m on Earth. Maybe Sally will join us by the time I return.”

  “That would be good. Sally knows the really good places to go, most of them dangerous!” Mike said and did her chirping laugh. “I can’t wait!”

  “Ah well.” Mark thought to himself. “I wanted a more interesting life.”

  “While I am on Earth, would you set up a running track, firing range, a gym with kit suitable for all three of us and an unarmed and close combat training area please?”

  “Really? I thought you’d had enough of training and fighting?”

  “You never know when it might be useful.” Mark replied with a grin.

  When they finished eating, Mark said farewell to Mike and blinked to his quarters.

  “Kate, this flat over the Chequers, do you know if it has a synthesiser in it?” Mark asked his AI.

  “Of course not Mark. No technology beyond the current human level is permitted on Earth.”

  “Apart from my shuttle.” Mark said.

  “That is correct Mark.”

  “And what is embedded in me.”

  “Of course.”

  “In that case, I’ll need to pack. Can you make a pattern for a rucksack, a modern one with a logo on it, like Nike or Adidas or something and order it please.”

  “Certainly. A Rygel Sports rucksack.”

  “A what?”

  “Rygel Sports. It’s the most popular sports brand at the moment.”

  “If you say so. I’ll need a couple of jumpsuits, a spare pair of boots and - say, six sets of underwear. Anything else I’ll buy while I am on Earth. Is it safe for me to take my shuttle and leave it where Alan’s was?”

  “Yes Mark, that facility would appear to still be disused. It is three forty local time there now, so it is still dark. Now would be a good time to leave.”

  Mark packed his new rucksack and blinked to his shuttle. “Take us down, Kate.” He instructed his AI.

  Willing To Earth

  His descent to Earth was a lot more comfortable than his ascent, with no free fall, no re-orientation, no need for wrist or ankle straps. Mark supposed that it was Alan’s vocation that made him cling on to archaic, outdated technology. A bit like his dad still having a VHS recorder. The shuttle quietly and gently settled into the space that Alan’s shuttle had occupied. Mark stood up, stretched, picked up his rucksack and stepped out into the cold air of pre-dawn Winchester.

  It was now ten past four and still pitch dark. Mark looked up and saw a few stars through the light pollution, and a crescent moon hung low on the horizon. He realised that when he looked up on clear nights on the planets he had been on since leaving Earth there had been no light pollution and if he looked up he could see a myriad of stars. He smiled to himself. It was such a short time ago that Earth had been his universe and now it was just another planet to him, even if it was where he thought of as home. As he contemplated the night sky he realised that with the life span that he could now look forward to, and the way that things were moving forwards on Earth, what he thought of as home would soon be gone forever, along with everyone and everything he knew and remembered. A feeling of nostalgia for his old life caught at him and he felt his throat tighten. He began to appreciate that near immortality had its downsides too.

  As he walked into the City, he realised that nowhere would be open yet. As best as he could remember, Starbucks opened at five o’clock, but he didn’t like their coffee very much and their tea was best avoided.

  “Kate, where is the nearest place I can get money from and when do they open?”

  “There is only one person in Winchester supplying tourists with money. His name is Dongyul. I’ll take you there, he’ll probably be there now.”

  “Dongyul? Doesn’t he have an Earth name?”

  “It is an Earth name, it's Korean. It helps him to explain to the natives why he doesn’t know much about England.”

  Mark arrived at a door with flaking black paint sandwiched between a shop selling expensive housewares and an artisan coffee shop in a side street just off the high street. It had the name Intercontinental Trading Partners on a small brass plate screwed to the door. Mark pushed the door and it swung open straight onto a narrow flight of stairs with a worn and grubby dark green carpet. Mark walked up the stairs to a small landing with another door in need of repainting. He turned the handle and the door opened into a tidy and well-lit office. It’s occupant, presumably Dongyul, sat behind an old fashioned leather topped desk. As Mark walked in the occupant rose to his feet.

  “Can I help you? Are you lost?” He enquired.

  “I think I’m at the right place. I need some money.”

  The occupant squinted and tilted his head sideways. “I think you are at the wrong place. There are several banks on the high street. You’ll easily find them but they won’t be open yet. Goodbye.” He then sat down and picked up a piece of paper and started reading it.

  Mark tried again. “Ah, excuse me, I know you normally deal with tourists, but I’d like some help please.”

  The occupant of the desk looked up suspiciously. “What do you know about tourists?” He asked.

  “I know you are a hobbyist and that you supply tourists with money. I’m not exactly a tourist, but I’d like some money please. If that’s OK.”

  “Who are you?” The occupant demanded, reaching into a desk drawer.

  “I’m Mark, Friend of the People, recently fighting with Sally’s army against the forces of Tk'ng Dach Rrn. Access my AI to confirm my identity.”

  The occupant frowned for a moment then leapt to his feet. “Mark the Hero, Friend of the People! What are you doing here! I mean, I heard that you were from a pre-emergent civilisation - but you’re a human! I didn’t know… What are you doing in Winchester? Sit down, sit down. Make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you tea, coffee, something stronger? Something to eat? Recreational drugs? I’m Dongyul, by the way.”

  “I guessed you must be. A coffee would be good please. I’m a bit tired and haven’t taken a sleep suppressor.”

  “Sleep suppressors eh? You can tell you’re military. I’ll just put the machine on. It’s new. I only bought it a couple of weeks ago. It makes great coffee.” Dongyul busied himself with the coffee machine and got two clean mugs out of a filing cabinet drawer.

  He sat down at his desk and continued. “As I was saying, what are you doing in Winchester?”

  “I live here. Lived here, I mean. I’ve just come back to tidy up some loose ends, then I’m off again to travel the galaxy.”

  Dongyul looked puzzled. “How did you get here? Did one of the People bring you? The coffee is ready. Do you take milk?”

  “Yes please to milk, just a splash. I came here in my own ship. It’s my first trip in it.”

  Dongyul fetched the coffees and sat down again. “Your own ship? How did you get that?”

  “The People gave it to me. Or rather, I asked for one and they gave it to me.”

  “A People’s ship? One of those damn great big ones? Are you travelling alone?”

  “It’s big enough, but they have bigger. I’ve got a travelling companion. They left Sally’s army to travel with me.”

  “Is your companion with you on Earth?”

  “No, she’s a reptile. She wouldn’t blend in here.”

  “No, she wouldn’t. Anyway Mark, you came here because you want some money. How much?”

  “I’m not planning to be here long. Would ten thousand pounds be OK?”

  “If you think
you need ten thousand pounds, you’d better take twenty. Maybe thirty. Would you like a debit card as well? I can make one for you now.”

  “I didn’t think you were allowed to use advanced technology here. How can you set up an account and a debit card right now?”

  Dongyul grinned. “It’s not that complicated. The card will debit my account and I bought a little machine on Ebay that makes the cards. I don’t think it’s strictly legal, but it’s not hurting anyone.” He swivelled round in his chair and pressed a few buttons on a small beige coloured machine. There was a faint smell of hot plastic and a gold coloured card was ejected from it. Dongyul passed it to Mark. “There you are. I’ll get you some cash.” He stood and walked over to a bookcase full of dusty looking books. He pressed the spine of the second book from the left on the bottom shelf and the bookcase swung open to reveal an opening with shelves from floor to ceiling. Each shelf held four wooden boxes. He took one of the boxes and placed it on the table. “Pass up your rucksack, I’ll put it straight in there.”

  Mark lifted his almost empty rucksack onto the desk and opened it. Dongyul proceeded to stuff it full of rolls of fifty, twenty and ten pound notes until it was nearly full.

  “I bet you don’t have a wallet, do you?” He asked Mark.

  “No, I lost all of my personal possessions in a recycling incident just after leaving Earth.”

  “These things happen.” Dongyul said with a grin. He reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a slim leather wallet which he tossed to Mark. “You don’t want to pull out bundles of notes every time you buy a coffee.” He said. “Is there anything else you need?”

  “No that’s great, it’s very generous of you. Although I’ve just realised that amongst the things I lost are the keys to my flat. Do you know of a locksmith who could get it open for me?”

  “What sort of lock is it?” Dongyul asked.

  “It’s a Yale lock. Does it matter?”

  “Yes.” He stood up and opened a drawer in a filing cabinet and pulled something out of it. “Now look, I shouldn’t really have this, it uses advanced technology. Not advanced to us, it’s pretty simple really, but far in advance of Earth technology. This is a smart metal Yale type key, programmed to open any lock. Recycle it when you’ve finished with it, or bring it back to me. Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone I gave it to you.”